Chapter 214  Life is Cruel (9)

    Bang!

    Theunched projectile didn’t do anything special. It simply hit its target almost at the same time the device exploded, not even a minute after firing.

    Some soldiers didn’t even raise their heads, mistaking the sound of the explosion for the sound of the device exploding.

    Ruuuumble.

    That was until they heard something heavy plunging into the water.

    “What are you doing? They’re climbing up.”

    However, after hearing that sound, someone among them fixed his gaze on the sea faster than anyone else.

    Meister, who hadn’t lowered his head in the first ce—he only put in some earplugs temporarily to protect his ears, but he continued to stand upright and watch everything transpire, trusting in the Inquisitor’s barrier—shouted as he hurled another alkaline bomb.

    “Yeah, I know.”

    The next to act was the Inquisitor.

    She was slightly shaken for a moment by the unexpectedly strong impact but quickly got back on her feet.

    Boooom!

    The Merfolk about toe up one after another were instantly crushed by the barrier that appeared out of nowhere. If they were human, the blow would’ve at least concussed them.

    Bang!

    The Merfolk that managed to avoid the barrier and climbed up were swiftly struck down by the hammer of justice. Regaining herposure, she exhaled steadily.

    Well, notpletely, though. The immense Arcane Power emanating from the city behind her and the continuous thunderstrikes echoing in the distance kept her constantly on edge.

    Her throat was so dry, it felt like it was burning.

    “…Did we take it down?”

    Meanwhile, Deathbringer awkwardly picked himself up, gripping his bow. “There’s a breach!” One by one, the soldiers who’d crouched down also began raising their spears again.

    “Probably not.”

    “…Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it.”

    Two people answered Deathbringer’s query. Meister and the lord looked out at the dark sea, their faces crumpled.

    Both were equipped with items that could illuminate the night. Meister had borrowed the lord’s item, while the lord had effectively grabbed another from a nearbymander.

    “But if we y our cards well, it seems we might be able to kill it.”

    “Thinking of aiming for the head? I disagree, Meister. The chances of missing are too high.”

    Anyway, after carefully observing the massive turtle, they discovered the aftermath of their earlier attack.

    The projectile they’d just fired had struck the turtle’s shell and torn off some of the rock attached to it. In the process, they appeared to have hit its neck as well, judging by the blood now flowing steadily from it.

    In short, while they couldn’t cause any significant damage to the shell, they were more than capable of prating its far softer, vulnerable flesh.

    “We don’t necessarily have to aim for its head. The area around the neck is also viable.”

    “There are only three devices. We just used one. Do you think we cannd that?”

    “If we miss, then we miss.”

    “…Do as you will.”

    With the turtle’s neck as long as it was, there were plenty of areas to target besides just the head; for example, the spot where the neck connected to the body within the shell.

    Guoooooh!

    “…!”

    “Something’sing!”

    “I’ll strengthen our defenses!”

    But would it still be this cruel world if their enemy just sat by as they attacked it?

    Hearing the turtle’s roar, the Inquisitor decided to prepare for the worst. She cast a blessing to reinforce the entire wall.

    She’d pushed herself a little too much during the previous attack, but thankfully, this much was still possible.

    Closing her eyes, the Inquisitor reassured herself that conserving her strength earlier had been the right choice. However, a sliver of doubt crept into her mind: how were they supposed to deal with the thing behind them?

    No matter how much strength she’d conserved, using her power like this right now would make it incredibly difficult for her to deal with the Demon behind them, so that was a natural concern.

    “Demon Knight, I trust you.”

    But she could no longer retreat from this ce. If she faltered now, far more lives would be lost than before when conserving her strength was still possible.

    So, what other choice did she have? A single beat of sweat rolled down her cheek as the entire wall began to glow a brilliant gold.

    Craaaaack.

    However, in the end, the protection proved somewhat meaningless.

    The iing attack was not a direct strike from the turtle.

    > [Mom, Mom! Where are you?]

    > [Darling, my love. Where have you gone without me? I’m scared.]

    > [Hey, are still you okay? We’ll make it back alive, right?]

    > [Help me. Help me… Ar…]

    “It’s a Siren!!”

    From the natural rock formations on the turtle’s shell, half-bird, half-Middle Demons began flying around.

    They were Sirens, Demons that lured people by imitating the voices of their dearly loved ones.

    > [Dad, I don’t know where to go. Where am I supposed to go?]

    > [F-fire! Lucas, save me! I can’t get out of here!]

    > [How abouting with me? I can protect you that way.]

    > [I’ll properly confess to you this time once youe back!]

    With mouse-gray wings attached to their Middle-like arms. Half covered beneath their blue-gray hair, their faces were featureless aside from a gaping mouth.

    “Everyone, snap out of it! Don’t be fooled by them!!”

    “Damn, those insane Demons. So things like these also exist, huh?”

    They rarely appeared before people, so he’d thought they wouldn’t appear this time either, but s, they had…!

    The lord’s eyes widened in shock as he hastily gave orders to those surrounding him. However, the Sirens’ voices were so eerily clear and distinct.

    Some soldiers were frozen in ce, their weapons still.

    Those who sumbed to these calls would soon be either torn apart by the Merfolk’s ws or fall into an eternal sleep through the Sirens’ kiss.

    “Snap out of it!! It’s fake! All of this is fake!!”

    The lord hurriedly turned to ring the rm bell. [Wilhelm.] He clenched his eyes shut and forced himself up thedder.

    “Everyone—! Get a hold of yourselves—!!”

    Boom!

    Suddenly, a tremendous amount of golden light erupted atop the wall, spreading out like an explosion.

    It was newly unleashed Divine Power she let out without even releasing the protective blessing on the wall, considering the soldiers’ dyed response to the Merfolk.

    Cold sweat formed on the Inquisitor’s face.

    > [Gyaaaak!]

    > [Kyaaaaargh!]

    Still, her efforts seemed worth the cost.

    Those bewitched by the Sirens’ voices regained their senses, while the Sirens and Merfolk, properly struck by the Divine Power that was no different from poison to them, screamed in agony before retreating.

    Their skin and feathers were slightly scorched.

    > [Mom, Mom! It hurts!]

    > [Lucas, Lucas, please! Help me…!]

    > [Aaargh!]

    But in the end, Demons were still Demons. Even while retreating, they continued to raise their voices, determined to somehow curse and bewitch the people.

    Bam!

    > [Kahak!]

    “How dare you.”

    But their attempt was thwarted by someone who stepped onto the ramparts.

    “How dare you…!”

    The two-meter-tall giant swung her spear with enough force to snap a Siren’s neck with the spearhead. As it plummeted down, there was no doubt the being had died instantly.

    “How dare a damn Demon insult my sister!”

    sh! That wasn’t all.

    Using one Siren as a stepping stone, she leaped again, driving her spear into a new Siren before sting it at yet another.

    Bam. Both fell helplessly into the endlessly deep sea.

    “I’ll tear everyst one of you to shreds—!”

    Her voice, nearly a roar, was filled with pure fury. A faint, ice-blue glow reminiscent of a frozen tundra shimmered along the spear’s de.

    “So that’s why you took so long toe down.”

    While most were stunned by her fiery presence, they scrambled to fight again. Meister, who’d disappeared at some point, suddenly popped up again almost out of nowhere.

    He held a cart with another device in his hands. The soldiers trailing behind him were red-faced and gasping for air. Their expressions showed they were exerting every ounce of strength in them to haul that stuff into position.

    “Move aside!”

    After much difficulty, the second device was finally installed. Following the same process as before, it was ready to fire.

    * * *

    Boom! Since they were in a different position from before—there wasn’t time to clear the debris—it must have been difficult to adjust the angle, but Meister still managed tond a shot close to the neck again.

    Ssh!

    The rocky formations near the injury crumbled into the sea, and the approaching turtle let out a long, resonant cry.

    More Sirens living on the turtle’s back took flight and joined the fight. It was astonishing how such a rare Demon could appear in such great numbers.

    “Laura…”

    > [Lucas! You’re finally here!]

    The biggest problem, however, was maintaining control over the soldiers.

    With so many Sirens present, it was bing increasingly difficult to restore the soldiers’ hold on their sanity.

    Even with the Inquisitor repeatedly unleashing bursts of Divine Power and Weapon Master… Berserk… whoever they were, rampaging like that and massacring Sirens, it wasn’t enough. Someone inevitably fell for the Sirens’ allure.

    Ssh! At the Sirens’ beckoning, a few soldiers threw themselves into the sea.

    Many others got kissed by the Sirens, subsequently having their tongues and faces gruesomely chewed off. Headless corpses fell from the sky, crashing into the ground. There were three or four who’d met this fate in this area alone.

    There was probably a lot more damage to sections of the battlefield where the Inquisitor and the dual-personality fighter couldn’t reach.

    “Damnit, My lord! Our forces…!”

    “Just a little longer, hold on a little longer!”

    The hardest part was that the gaps created in their ranks by the Sirens made it much easier for the Merfolk to breach the walls.

    The few remaining Merfolk, sensing this was their final chance, fought even harder than ever before.

    For the soldiers, who were already weary from the unusually fierce fighting and demoralized by this utter chaos and countless other variables, this only exhausted them even more quickly.

    Thud!

    “It’s t-too close…”

    By now, the turtle’s massive body had crossed half the embankments. That was also theirst bastion, the worst-case scenario the lord had been thinking about.

    Thest bastion had been decided upon based on the time required to evacuate the soldiers before the turtle finally reached the walls.

    Boom!

    “This is thest one! At this range, I can’t miss!”

    However, just as thest artillery device was installed, he hesitated.

    Evacuating the soldiers now might make all their efforts pointless if the turtle could be brought down with thisst device.

    No, it would even be a loss for them. There was no way the Merfolk would leave the walls alone after all the soldiers left.

    Either the soldiers’ lives or the money to repair the walls?

    But after shing through a Siren’s wings, the lord came to a decision, firing the signal re he’d kept until this point.

    “Retreat!”

    The answer was obvious. Cities could always be rebuilt, but people’s lives couldn’t be restored.

    “Evacuate those in the center first, then the nks!”

    Soldiers weren’t needed to activate the artillery device. At most, it required only a few wizards capable of channeling their energy into it and Meister.

    With only a small, elite team, they could easily retreat even after the turtle got closer.

    After making this efficient decision, the lord sent away his soldiers first. No one would be able to criticize his judgment as weak or callous.

    “My lord, you could have started the retreat earlier.”

    On the contrary, most soldiers didn’t even give it that much thought, and the Inquisitor evenmended the lord’s decision.

    With her hair drenched in sweat and stered to her face, she mmed her mace into the ground to unfold the sanctuary. A radiance a bit darker than what they’d seen from her until now began to color the walls like waves.

    “…Also, under no circumstances… under no circumstances, you hear, send anyone to the north gate. Even if a distress signales from there, it doesn’t matter. You can monitor the area, but do not approach it directly.”

    “…?!”

    “…Hey, iron wall. What are you talking abo—”

    “You’ll die if you go there. Ordinary people can no longer help with that battle.”

    The Hero, seemingly on the verge of tears, dered the sanctuary. Deathbringer, who looked ready to press for more answers, tightly shut his mouth.

    With the sanctuary set up to support the walls, the soldiers could retreat with much greater ease.

    “Go on ahead, my lord. What business does themander-in-chief have staying here?”

    “…Dietra, Franz. Stay behind and help them. I wish you both the best of luck.”

    The lord, both the army’smander and the city’s ruler, turned to leave, his expression dripping with guilt. He followed after his soldiers.

    His duty now was to oversee the soldiers’ retreat, receive reports on the progress of the people’s evacuation, and urge them to evacuate even faster.

    Those left behind waited with tension as the artillery device’s energy steadily charged.

    Craaaaaash!

    At the far end of the city, the area around the north gate, which continued to suffer from lightning strikes, also began to burn.

    Boooom! Crash!

    The turtle was no more than a few dozen meters away. It advanced aggressively, crushing everything in its path, seemingly unbothered by the sharp spikes beneath it.

    Crunch!

    “Is that the nest where all those damn birds came from?”

    “Probably.”

    At that moment, the one who’d torn apart most of the remaining Sirens that lingered even after the sanctuary was established finally returned to the wall.

    The fact she’d narrowly avoided falling into the sea multiple times didn’t seem to bother her, as the blood-drenched fighter’s eyes were still as fierce as ever.

    “Will that kill it?”

    “It would be great if it does, but who knows? If it doesn’t, we’ll have to retreat.”

    Weapon Master… No, was she Berserk at the moment? Deathbringer, who knew about her dual personalities, felt a bit uneasy as he nced at her eerie golden eyes.

    “If that thing doesn’t kill it, Berserk will. Definitely.”

    …Berserk’s older sister, the so-called Weapon Master, wasn’t just another of her personalities?

    “Well, we’d certainly be grateful if you could do that.”

    “Wait, I know you’re strong, but how do you n on killing that…?”

    “Leave it, Franz. If she says she can, it’s because she knows she can.”

    Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said, “Don’t insult my sister,” while pursuing her target, right?

    Unconsciously analyzing Berserk’s words, he shifted his gaze to the gigantic monster almost right before his nose. In fact, this thing looked more like a natural disaster than a standard enemy.

    It was just a natural disaster that had chosen to ravage this city.

    “Hero, it’s going to reach us first! Do something!”

    However, people sometimes just had to deal with natural disasters like these.

    In response to Meister’s shout, the Inquisitor, who’d been using the sanctuary to block the iing Merfolk and Sirens, pushed herself to her limits even more.

    “O Lord, please grant me the strength to protect everyone.”

    A brilliant lighting from her formed a barrier that blocked the turtle’s advance. While it wasn’t a Demon and thus wouldn’t get damaged from Divine Power, it certainly couldn’t push through the barrier ording to the caster’s will.

    The sh between the giant monster and the Inquisitor’s will pushed them both to their limits. With a soft crackling, the barrier cracked before immediately reforming, pushing the turtle even further away.

    Drip.

    Blood flowed out of the Inquisitor’s nose and mouth before instantly burning away.

    “It’s ready!”

    Just as her body was about to falter, the device had fully charged. Meister shouted.

    “Release the barrier on my signal! Sooner if needed!”

    “…You two, take the wizards and retreat now. You too, troublemaker!”

    “…You definitely have toe follow me right after, okay?!”

    “4, 3—”

    “Young hunter, take the Demon Knight’s horse as well. It should be nearby.”

    “What?!”

    “Fire!”

    Boooooooom!

    A deafening explosion shook the heavens and earth as the projectile tore through the colossal beast’s neck, burrowing deep into where the neck connected to the body.

    GrooOoOOOr!

    The monster backed away, thrashing its neck wildly.

    “Ah.”

    At the same time, the Inquisitor’s head tilted back. The rampaging monster wasn’t even of any concern to her at that moment.

    Her green eyes filled with the hellish, fiery scenery beyond.

    Whoooosh, bababang.

    And then… in the midst of those mes, a signal re rose high into the sky.

    It was a call for help, a plea for salvation, and a deration that the battle was too much for him to handle alone.

    The Demon Knight had failed to eliminate the Demon.

    An overwhelming amount of Demonic Energy surged across thend, as if a Demon Lord had descended.

    ____